


Never safe than sorry

by Bunbun9



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Trauma, First Crush, Five Stages of Grief, Forgiveness, Hiding the truth, Hospitalization, I'm Bad At Titles, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mari (OMORI) Lives, Medical Procedures, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Misunderstandings, Musical Instruments, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Near Death Experiences, OMORI Spoilers, One Big Happy Family, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Selectively Mute Sunny (OMORI), Shared Trauma, dealing with grief
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29850213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunbun9/pseuds/Bunbun9
Summary: Mari just barely survived the fall and it’s ruled as a self induced accident, falling by herself. Sunny and Basil have to deal with the guilt of nearly killing her and covering it up as a result of Sunny’s outburst. The group of friends has their friendship tested as they deal with their personal lives and eventually find out what actually happened to their beloved friend.
Relationships: Aubrey & Basil & Hero & Kel & Sunny (OMORI), Hero/Mari (OMORI)
Kudos: 12





	1. Breathe

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing a fic so be kind but constructive criticism is always appreciated :) Also, I threw in some headcanons of mine so be aware of that.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It happened too fast..It should have been him..It was his fault..

“The ending is always more bittersweet than the beginning.” Sunny just nodded along and Basil sat in the corner listening intently as Mari gushed about the supposed masterpiece that is their sheet music. The sun had already set behind the horizon but Mari still wasn’t satisfied with the duet, “Our performance is tomorrow, it _needs_ to be perfect.” After marking her sheet music for what seemed like the 100th time that session, Mari looked at her brother and practically begged, ”One more time from the top?” Sunny just sighed and lifted his violin to his chin as he shared a look with his supportive friend, this is gonna be a long night.

By the fifth time Mari asked for “one more” duet, Sunny had had enough practicing time for the night and gestured toward the door to the stairwell as he sleepily walked away, with Basil following close behind.

“Wait, we still need more time! Please!” She half-walked-half-jogged up the stairs before stopping at the top and grabbing her sibling on the shoulder. “Just this once? We almost have it but there’s still things to fix.”   
  
Sunny just shook his head and tried to walk away, visibly looking upset. Without thinking, Mari tightened her grip and turned Sunny to face her, “I know you’re tired, I am too but we need to be ready for the recital. Just one more time and you can go to bed okay?” Sunny tore her arms off of himself and tried to stomp away, but before he could, he felt the grip of his sister on the back of his sleeve...Then everything went black....It all happened so suddenly....

The next thing that he knew, Mari was at the bottom of the stairs in a heap. She was covered in blood mixed with splintered wood, as Sunny quietly sniffled next to her, taking the scene in.

”Guess...the..recital..is....cancelled..huh?” It was a barely audible remark but Sunny heard it all the same. Mari was trying to keep him from freaking out. Thinking of her brother in a time like this? Sunny’s expression darkened even more knowing how much his older sister loved him. _She’s injured and the first thing she thinks about is him_. Even if it’s _his_ fault. The young boy hurriedly ran for the phone to dial 911, only to notice Basil, who had stayed for the whole ordeal, already had it.

“Help...My friend...She fell down the stairs...She’s bleeding..” That was all that was needed to send the paramedics running. Soon enough,the ambulance came and as Mari was picked up on the stretcher, Sunny covered his eyes to protect against the blinding red and blue flashes against the night sky. Basil was nowhere to be seen, he presumably slinked away the first opportunity he had.

A car silently pulled up and out stepped both of the children’s parents. “WHAT HAPPENED.” Sunny’s mother managed to choke out between sobs.

An officer walked over to the grieving mother and the father comforting her. “It’ll be okay ma’am. From the looks of it, it was an accident, your daughter fell down the stairs and your brave son and noticed and dialled”

“ _Accident? Fell down? Brave son?”_ Sunnys mind was going a mile a minute listening to the man. He pushed her. He _pushed_ her. It was _his_ fault. It wasn’t an accident and he was the opposite of brave. _He_ **pushed** _her._ _He_ should be the one getting punished. He wasn’t even the one to speak up and tell the phone operator. He made his poor traumatized friend on the verge of breaking down, talk to the 911 operator. It was all _his_ own fault. It should have been _him not his sister._

Sunny didn’t sleep that night. He doubted he would ever sleep peacefully again. His parents pulled into the driveway from the hospital exactly 3 and a half hours after they left, tailing the ambulance on that fatal night. Guess that the phrase counting the seconds wasn’t just a figure of speech. He should’ve went with them. It’s his fault Mari is in the hospital and he couldn’t even bear to face her. At least she’s still alive...That should be top priority. Right? Sunny was drowning in his own mind when-

*knock knock* “Hey sweetie.. I know it’s hard right now but it’ll be okay.” His mom walked in and sat on the bed. “The doctors said that Mari would make it.” She patted his shoulder, the same shoulder that Mari grabbed during the argument. “I know you’re worried for her but we should let her rest in the hospital for a day or two, how about you tell your friends and you all can go together when she’s ready?”

His friends...How could he be so selfish to forget his friends...They’ll be devastated...And it’s all _his_ fault..They need to know the truth. But not now. Not now. Ignorance is bliss right? Maybe they _don’t_ need to know. But he’ll feel so much better confessing. Maybe Basil can help?

“Sunny?” Basil must have had the same idea, as they ran into each other at the playground the next morning. “I know last night was a blur but we need to think this through.” No small talk, no hiding it, straight to the point. “Look at it like this.” The nervous-looking boy weighed their options clearly and concisely. In the end, the two agreed that they eventually need to tell their friends but now is not the right time. More importantly, they would go together to tell everyone about Mari’s injury. Basil can do the talking, Sunny is there for support and credibility.

Now all they need to do is tell them, which is easier said than done...

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

*knock knock knock* The door opened and there stood Hero, Kel was watching Tv on the couch in the background. “Oh hey guys, are you excited for the recital tonight?” It was an innocent question but it still felt like a stab to the heart.

“Well... about that...” Basil started up. “Sadly the recital is postponed for a while...” The silence was louder than the actual words.

“What happened? Is everything okay?” Hero started to get a worried expression on his face.

“Mari fell...badly... she’s in the hospital now..” Sunny nodded slowly, not being able to make eye contact. Kel was now looking back towards the door, he had an unreadable expression.

“Oh...” That was all that Hero could say.

Meanwhile, Kel had walked up next to his brother and patted him on the back. “Is she okay? I mean she’s in the hospital, but she’s okay right?”

Basil just nodded as he looked over to Sunny who at this point was staring directly at the ground below his feet.

After a what felt like an eternity of silence, Basil finally spoke up. “We’re gonna visit her in the hospital the day after tomorrow, we hope you can come with.”

Hero blinked slowly as Kel answered for the both of them. “We‘ll make sure to be there, I hope everything ends up okay.” He paused for a brief moment. “And Sunny... I know it seems hard but things will get better.” The door then gently closed, no goodbyes, no waves, just a closed door in the face. They usually never skip saying their goodbyes, but this was not a normal day, nor will it ever feel normal knowing the truth.

“I think that went well enough.” Basil quickly walked away with Sunny by his side. “On to Aubrey, She’s probably hanging outside somewhere.”

After some time walking around the small neighborhood, the duo found Aubrey playing soccer with some of her other friends from school.

Sunny waved her over, “Timeout everyone! Hey Sunny, Hey Basil, how’s it going? Are you guys ready for the concert tonight?”   
  
“Well...” Basil explained everything to Aubrey as she looked back and forth between the faces of her close friends in front of her. She never interrupted or asked questions.

“That’s...disappointing... I hope she gets better.” Aubrey didn’t seem to be too phased by the depressing news laid out before her.

“Yeah, it really is sad...we were gonna see her in 2 days and we were hoping that you could come with?” Basil was starting to speak more clearly with each word.

“Oh, sure, sure, I’ll come with.” Aubrey said her piece and walked away, trying to appear calm but the sniffles and shallow breaths coming from her direction as she walked away said otherwise.

Sunny seemed to have his mood dampened even further hearing this, but Basil didn’t acknowledge his concern as he moved away from the soccer game that was being disbanded. “Well Sunny, I guess this is where we part ways for now. It’s gonna get kinda late soon so we should go now, see you later.” With that, Basil left Sunny standing on the sidewalk with his own thoughts.

Once Sunny had made it back to his house, he looked out the window at the sky gradually getting darker. _They would have been at the concert hall by now but instead Mari is in the hospital because of his own selfishness_. Sunny walked up to the stairs going to his room, it seemed so much higher up than it did before. It was a long struggle but somehow, he made it up to his room to lay down. And before he knew it, Sunny fell into a deep slumber.

  
————Welcome to White Space, it’s the first time you’ve been here————


	2. Give me some Headspace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time exploring Headspace doesn’t go as well as it should’ve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter, but next chapter is probably gonna be pretty long to make up for it :)

The white expanse surrounding Omori was blinding. After his eyes adjusted, Omori looked around at his surroundings. There wasn’t much of anything but the things sitting under the black lightbulb. Mewo was snoozing in a ball nearby, she looked peaceful laying there. There was a tissue box, a notebook, and a laptop, all three of which didn’t have anything interesting to note after some inspection. Guess all there really is left is to walk through the mysterious door that seemed to float in the nothingness of White Space.

The door creaked open to a small colorful area. Once he let go of the door it felt to have disappeared from existence. Hero and Kel were playing some sort of tag game. Aubrey was sitting down watching the two chase one another until she noticed Omori standing next to her.

“Omori is here! Hey Omori!” Aubrey got up and stood in between Hero and Kel. “We were waiting for you so we could head to the playground, come along with us!”   
  
Wordlessly, Omori followed the cheery group to the playground where many kids were scattered about. As he was looking around he heard it.

“Hey Omori! Hey everyone!” Looking to the source of the yelling was none other than Mari...sitting next to...Basil. Something felt off but Omori tried to ignore the feeling. “Come sit with us! We’re having a picnic!” The group of friends rushed to the picnic basket as Omori, now hesitantly, followed behind them.

“Hey Omori! How’s it going?” Basils eyes seemed to look right through his friend as he talked. “Mari and I were just talking about how nice it would be for you to have a picnic with us!” Omori faked a small smile and sat down on the checkered blanket.

Mari handed Omori a sandwich and started to make small talk with everyone. “It’s a beautiful day out! This reminds me of when we were making those flower crowns. Speaking of that, Basil has a surprise for everyone!” Everyone looked over to Basil who was holding a scrapbook.

“You didn’t! Basil this is so nice, open it up!” Aubrey was bouncing around where she sat as Basil put the book on the ground and opened it up.

Seeing those pictures...everyone looks so happy...Mari...looks...so...happy...Omori’s vision started to blur. Everything started to click. _It was **his** fault. _Omori’s arms and legs gave out **He** _pushed_ **her.** Omori closed his eyes. _His own sister._ It all started to fade. _He traumatized his friend and_ **made** _him cover it up._ He felt everything around him fade as he sunk deeper into nothingness...

Sunny jolted up from his bed. It was still dark outside the window. _That dream._ It was so...was so...what was that dream about? Sunny tried to recall anything from the dream he had but it all felt so fuzzy, as if he had hid it away immediately. After some time passed, Sunny deemed that if he can’t remember then it must not have been that important. 

He didn’t get any sleep after that. The sun started to rise after an eternity of pondering and trying to take his mind off of everything. He didn’t bother getting up from bed. What’s the use? There’s no reason to get up anyway.

Staring at the ceiling for hours on end was all that the boy could do. It was all that he could bear. All that he deserved. A boring punishment for a boring nobody. So _useless._ Nothing mattered. Nobody cared. And no one came looking for the boring, useless nobody.

Despite having stayed in bed all day, Sunny still felt exhausted. Both physically and mentally. Being left alone with your thoughts is one of the most terrifying things you can subject yourself to. He _pushed_ her. He deserves it. It’s an endless cycle that constantly repeats. Why did it have to be him? Why did it have to be her? Why did it have to be anybody? Fate is a tricky thing sometimes.   
**  
** As the darkness once again fell upon the bed, Sunny couldn’t help but wonder about Basil. If his own experience was any indication, Basil most likely was doing even worse than he was. He wished he could do anything but it’s all so useless...He wished everything would just...stop moving...so fast...  
 **  
——————**Welcome to White Space. You’ve lived here for as long as you can remember **——————**  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since idk how well I implied it, just assume that every time Sunny goes to bed, he goes to headspace and it basically follows the same series of events as the game.

**Author's Note:**

> Don’t expect this to be updated super regularly since writing has never really come naturally for me and also school exists. :/


End file.
